10 Amazing Wrestling Villains Hidden In Plain Sight
This dastardly lot were edging towards the dark side right under your nose...
There's nothing quite like the feeling of being genuinely stunned at the reveal of a wrestling character being a genuine a-hole villain all along.
Now, a wrestler choosing to take a walk on the dark side can sometimes be spotted a mile away, with various obvious hints and anything but subtle suggestions of some evil within ultimately setting the stage for a knife to be inevitably plunged into the back of a beloved babyface.
And that's what makes those times when a crowd are legitimately caught off-guard by a sudden and seemingly out of nowhere fall into darkness so damn captivating.
But when it comes to the following collection of personalities who surprisingly opted for a change of attitude, said landscape-changing decisions were actually very much being secretly foreshadowed and teased in plain sight - sometimes even for months!
Quietly loaded lines that told you there and then what a one-time hero was willing to do to succeed, Cameo videos giving you a cheeky glimpse at the dominant big bad to come, and many a tantrum being largely overlooked are just a few ways these glorious eventual villains hid right under your nose.
10. Steve Austin Needs To Beat The Rock
Coming into what would go down in history as perhaps the greatest WrestleMania of all time, the two biggest stars WWE had ever seen sat down with good ol' Jim Ross to talk about their incoming WWE Championship main event epic.
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was clearly desperate to reclaim a title he hadn't held for nearly two years. And with a colder look than usual in his pale blue eyes, the 'Texas Rattlesnake' told his long-time rival that he didn't just want to beat him on a personal level, he needed to beat The Rock on a professional one more than the 'Great One' could ever imagine.
Sure enough, that need to do whatever it took to walk out of the Astrodome on top resulted in Austin making a deal with another long-time nemesis by the name of Mr. McMahon, one which saw him blast Rocky with a chair on his way to finally taking the title back.
Now sure, your mileage may vary on the divisive run that followed this unquestionably surprising turn of events. But there's no doubting that many enjoyed seeing the anti-hero finally being given a chance to flex his heel muscles at the top of the card.
And it all started back when a determined Austin told Rocky to his face exactly what that belt meant to him.